1904 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



135 



in pronouncing sweet clover a weed should 

 recognize it is just as much one of the clo- 

 vers as mammoth, red, and medium.— A. I. 

 R.] 



carl's extractor for unfinished sec- 

 tions. 

 ^In Gr.KAViNGS. p. 928, Mr. C. R. King asks 

 if unfinished sections can be extracted with- 

 out breaking the combs. My brother has 

 made a very nice little extractor for just 

 such sections, and it works very nicely. It 

 is made out of an ordinary- sized galvanized 

 pail, and is operated by means of a cord, 



WIDTH OF ENTRANCE FOR INDOOR WINTER- 

 ING; DKPTH OK EXTRACTING FRAMES. 



1. I have my bees in a cellar. The bot- 

 tom-boards to the hives give a clear space 

 of % inch under the frame. Do jou consid- 

 er that sufficient ventilation? 



2 How deep would you advise making 

 extracting fr;imes, and whcit weight or 

 grade of foundation would you use? 



Athol, Mass. . _ A. M. V. Hager^_ 



[1. Ordinarily the ><i inch space under 

 the frames will be sufficient. Dr. Miller, 

 however, prefers full 2 inches. The deeper 

 space is, perhaps, better; but we have se- 

 cured uniformly good results with a J^-inch 

 space. 



2. Anywhere from 5 to 7'4 inches is the 

 usual depth for extracting frames, prefera- 

 bly the latter. In any case, use si me stan- 

 dard dimension to avoid Cunfut>ion, so that 

 5'ou will be able to get your supplies at a 

 reasonable figure. The two depths of shal- 

 low extracting- 'rames most commonly used 

 are 5^8 and 7^2 inches deep. — Ed.] 



GALVANIZED STEEL ROOFINGS. 



Seeing jour editorial, page 956, on roof- 

 ing materials, I should like to ask whether 

 j'ou know the galvanized steel roofing sold 

 for house roofs to be durable, and whether 

 it will be cheaper than zinc for hive-covers? 

 Would it require painting? 



R. B. Hunter. 



Brinkleyville, N^C., Dec. 2. _ _^ 



[The galvanized steel roofings sold on the 

 market I think are all good — at least that 

 has been our experience. Zinc would cost 

 nearly twice as much. No paint would be 

 required, but it would be advisable to put 

 one coat of white on so as to draw less heat 

 if the hives were exposed to the sun. — Ed.] 



A A, ba.skets to hold frame.'; B. pins to holrl bi.skets; 

 C. braces D. common galvanizrd pail; E. spool and 

 cord for power; F, si ck- Is lor shaft; dotted liues show 

 basket tipped to receive combs. 



by which means the speed can be regulated 

 in accordance with the sections to be ex- 

 tracted. The frames can not be reversed; 

 but the secions can be made to operate in 

 the opposite direction. The whole thing is 

 a very inexpensive affair, and will come in 

 quite handy for those who have a great 

 many unfinished sections which they do not 

 wish to lose. Perhaps it c in be made to 

 accommodate four sections at one time— ours 

 is for two. I send drawing herewith. 



H. F. Carl. 

 Washington, D. C, Nov. 5. 



[Where one has a full-sized extractor it is 

 better to use a frame that will hold four 

 sections at once or two stich frames for a 

 two frame extractor. A small machine such 

 as is here shown can be made to work, but 

 it will consume a lot of time for a few sec- 

 tions. — Ed.] 



ACID FOR REFINING WAX. 



Will you kindly inform me which grade 

 of sulphuric acid is used in cleansing bees- 

 wax, the common or the C. P.? How much 

 stronger is the C. P. than the common? 

 Willis H. Freeman. 



Westville Center, N. Y., Dec. 5. 



[The ordinary sulphuric acid, the com- 

 mercial article, is the kind to use. The C. 

 P., of c )urse, is all right, but too expen- 

 sive. — Ed.] 



SOUR MOLASSES. 



Having a chance to purchase a barrel of 

 sour molasses, would it be fit to use for 

 spring feeding, and should I purchase the 

 same for that purpose? W. C. Haines. 



McComb, Ohio, Jan. 5. 



[We would not advise you to use the sour 

 molas«es. It is not even fit for spring feed- 

 ing. — Ed.] 



